Sometimes we just want to declutter or organize our home but just don’t know where to start. What are somethings we have in our home that take up space but are really “no brainers” when it comes to a quick, easy purge?
1. Excess paper– This paper can be computer printouts that you no longer need, copies of paid bills, unnecessary receipts, or even old newspapers and articles. Quickly sort through your mounds of paper stuck here and there and see how much can quickly go into the trash or recycle bin. Keep asking yourself, “Why do I need this?” and “What is the worst thing that can happen if I throw this away?”
2. Extra clothes hangers or speciality hangers you are not using. Open each closet door and look inside. Pull out all those old wire hangers or hangers that you bought for a specific purpose and never use. Return the wire ones to your dry cleaner and recycle the rest.
3. Ratty bed linens and towels. Think about how many linens and towels you really need. Two sets of bed linens for each bed (you can also count the sofa bed) and 2 sets of towels for each person living in your home plus 2 sets for each guest room are usually plenty. Now take the mismatched and threadbare other linens and donate them to a vet or animal rescue center.
4. Extra vases and flower pots. Save the ones you have used in the past year and let the rest go. It will be great to have that extra shelf space. Florists will be glad to get your donations.
5. VHS tapes, cassette tapes, unused video games, CDs you no longer play. Why are you keeping these? If it is a really special VHS of a family wedding, get it digitized. These items take up a lot of space.
6. Exercise Equipment that you aren’t using. More people use a treadmill to hang clothes on that to use as intended. If you haven’t used this stuff in the past year, let it go and give someone else a chance using it. This is also true of water bottles. I have seen whole shelves of these bottles picked up at some event and then not used.
7. Make up and hair accessories. Let go of all those samples you got because they came “free” with a purchase. You might let go of those “free” cosmetic bags, too. Women’s shelters would love some of this. Curling irons, flat irons, rollers that you no longer use can also be easily given away. You’ll love the extra room in your bathroom.
8. Old electronics. Fax machines, printers, phones, cables, chargers, and items you have forgotten what they even are. Let them go. What cables and accessories you keep, put in plastic bags and label them.
9. Kitchen items that only have one use. Cherry pitters, crab mallets, grapefruit spoons, egg cups, or any item that you have not used in the past year. These really mess up your kitchen drawers and shelves.
10. Games, puzzles, old hobbies paraphernalia. If you no longer do puzzles, if you have not played that game in years, if you don’t really think you’ll use that wooden tennis racket, let it go. Others may now enjoy what you no longer use. Donate these or give to friends and family.
Now, don’t you feel free?
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer
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